Soul Searching
by Set
Summary: Cheetara fights for herself when her power gets to great, the rating might be a little strong but oh well. Please review


Authors Notes: The characters used in this story (sans Aurora) are all property of their respective companies, which would be Rankin-Bass (or was it Ruby-Spears, I can't remember) and LJN (Do they even EXIST anymore?) as well as whoever else owns our wonderful Thundercats, new episodes, please please PLEAAAAAAAAAASE!!!!!!!! I think that's it, at least that I can currently think of, so on with the show.  
  
Chapter One:  
  
Month's had passed since the cultivation of New Thundera had finished. Mumm-Ra had kept his activities non-existent, perhaps he was showing his own way of thanking Lion-O for shaving him from the perils of the Book of Omens. The Thundercats lives were beginning to become… boring. The people of New Thundera still believed in them, and Lord Lion-O had proven himself to be a kind and just ruler to all of the people who had returned to their once destroyed planet. The inhabitants of third-Earth also needed the Thundercats aid, in case of natural disaster or attack from the Berserkers. The Tower of Omens and the Cats-Lair were still very functional and as always two members of the Thundercats were stationed on third-Earth in order to monitor the activities of the planet. The old bases were currently being manned by Panthro and Tigra. In a way the people of third-Earth aided in the cultivation process of new Thundera. The Rober- Berbils had brought ways for the planet to grow candy fruit and other crops for food. The warrior maidens gave the Thundercats seeds to grow the trees that made their own lush tree-top kingdom. And the snowman of Hook Mountain had brought incredible ice sculptures that would never melt and were used in the Lord's chamber of the New Cats-Lair. The hopes and dreams of the former refugees from a planet they thought would never return were coming true. And yet at the same time one member of the Thundercats was confronting her inner demons, and that member was Cheetara. She was always thought of as one of the most powerful members that the Thundercats had in their ranks but lately her power was expanding tremendously. Her telepathic visions were becoming stronger and more frequent and her telekinesis was growing stronger by the day. She kept her battle private, confident that only she could solve a problem that had to deal with her own heart, and did not wish to worry anyone else. She was returning from one of her early morning jogs and she saw Lynx-O relaxing under one of the trees from the tree-top kingdom. "Good morning Lynx-O, you are up rather early." She told her friend.  
  
"Ah, Cheetara, always up early for your jogs around the surrounding area aren't you?" He said with a smile as he sat up. "I was just listening to the voices of Thundera, remembering the past. Our old planet was a truly beautiful one, and even though I cannot see how the planet is now growing, I can feel the difference. I know that under Lord Lion-O's care this place will become much brighter then it ever was. I only wish Jaga was here to see it." Lynx-O said remembering the previous lord of the Thundercats. At the time of the planets explosion he, and his closest friends, Bengali and Pumayra, were not members of the Thundercats and Jaga probably did not even know of their existence. But Lynx-O knew that Jaga was a kind man at heart, after all he raised Lion-O, and Lord Lion-O was the finest example of a person Lynx-O had ever known his entire life.  
  
"Jaga." Cheetara said lowly. Almost immediately after saying his name her body began to twitch violently and Lynx-O, although blind, felt her Aura begin to shake.  
  
"Cheetara! Cheetara! What's the matter?" He said as he darted to give her body support. She placed her hand on his shoulder and used it as a balance to get up.  
  
"Nothing Lynx-O, do not worry about it. It was just a cramp, I must have gotten it from the jog. I'm going to go take a bath, that should help relax my legs. I'll see you later." Lynx-O felt the temperature change in the area she was around and knew that she was gone. He also knew that this was something more then a cramp, Cheetara never got cramps.  
  
"Hey Lynx-O!" Someone yelled. He knew from the voice that it was Snarfer.  
  
"Good morning Snarfer, where are you off to so early in the morning?"  
  
"Uncle Oswald and Uncle Eggbert are having some trouble with the machines in the village of the Snarf's. I'm going to see if I can fix it."  
  
"Maybe you should take Bengali with you Snarfer."  
  
"That is a really good idea." The young snarf said. "Did you happen to talk to Cheetara already?"  
  
"Yes I did, why?"  
  
"Because I said hi to her as she was walking down the hall, but she seemed as if she didn't hear me. Almost as if… she was in her own little world. Do you know what's wrong with her?"  
  
"She said she had a leg cramp and was going to take a bath."  
  
"Cheetara, a cramp? That's odd… oh well, I'm going to go see if Bengali will come with me. Bye Lynx-O!" Snarfer turned and waved (which was pure stupidity, waving to a blind man) as he rushed into the lair.  
  
"Yes, odd indeed…" Lynx-O said to himself as he headed back into the lair.  
  
Chapter Two:  
  
Lynx-O, while wiser then all of the Thundercats that were still alive, decided that he would need to seek out other opinions about what was happening to Cheetara. And while Lion-O may have been the youngest and most naïve of all of the Thundercats, he was still the lord, and he had every right to know about what was happening. He was also one of Cheetara's closest friends, many of the others had speculated that they may indeed be more then that but Lynx-O knew better. He walked into the Lord's chamber, and as expected it was empty with the exception of Lion-O. As always the Lord wore the cats claw on one side and the sword of omens nestled inside the claw. He was not wearing his crown, he always hated having to wear the crown and disliked being treated like royalty, but he accepted his position as lord of the Thundercats, and with that position came lord of New Thundera. Lynx-O walked to the foot of the throne and bowed slightly. "Lynx- O, please, you know I hate the formalities, please there is no need to bow."  
  
"As you wish my lord."  
  
"Why have you come here old friend, you look as though something is troubling you."  
  
"Something is indeed causing my mind unease my lord."  
  
"What is it Lynx-O, please tell me." Lion-O arose from his throne and walked down the steps.  
  
"It is about Cheetara Lion-O, she seems troubled as of late."  
  
"Now that you mention it, she has been less focused in the past weeks. But why do you think something is wrong?"  
  
"Today she had returned from one of her morning jogs and we were talking, then all of sudden she began to shake. After the shaking stop she complained of a leg cramp."  
  
"That is odd, she's never complained of cramps in her leg before."  
  
"I fear she may be hiding something that could cause her much distress."  
  
"Thank you for bringing that to my attention Lynx-O." Lynx-O gave a slight nod.  
  
"Now if you will excuse me my lord, I have some other duties I must attend too."  
  
"Of course, of course." Lion-O said as Lynx-O turned and walked out of the chamber. Lion-O heard the doors shut as he walked up the steps and sat down in his throne again. Could Cheetara really be holding something from everyone? She was always so open about everything, she would never hold something from anybody. But she had been acting out of character lately, momentarily losing her train of thought during a conversation, little things like that.  
  
"You seemed troubled my son." A familiar voice said.  
  
"Jaga!" Lion-O said upon seeing the astral form of his mentor and previous lord. "Yes, the possibility of Cheetara doing something that could harm her exists, and I don't like that."  
  
"Lion-O…" Jaga began "As you well know Cheetara has abilities that have drove her to the brink of madness before. It could be possible that they are doing so again. Her tribe has great power, and power can break people. It broke her mother…" Lion-O gasped and looked at Jaga.  
  
"Her mother?"  
  
"Yes, her mother, Aurora." Jaga said. "Her mother was a great warrior, much like she is, but her power drove her to madness."  
  
"What happened to her mother?" Jaga looked away from Lion-O. "Jaga, I need to know…"  
  
"I had to end her life…"  
  
"But I thought the sword would not allow anyone to harm a Thundercat."  
  
"The sword does indeed not allow harm to become a Thundercat from its blade. But Aurora had forsaken the code in her madness, and I had bring an end that madness, by any means necessary."  
  
"Does Cheetara know?"  
  
"Yes, I had to tell her, she's locked the memory deep in herself and forgotten all about it, until now." Jaga's form began to fade from sight.  
  
"Jaga, wait!"  
  
"You know what must be done Lion-O, now do it." Lion-O could not believe it, Jaga had killed Cheetara's mother, would he need to do the same? Lion-O ran to Cheetara's room and saw her looking outside her window.  
  
"Lion-O?" She said surprised.  
  
"Is everything all right Cheetara?"  
  
"Yes, why?"  
  
"Do you PROMISE me that everything is all right, and if you ever had something on your mind that you would tell me?"  
  
"Yes, Lion-O, of course I would tell you if something was wrong. Why do you ask?"  
  
"No reason. I just had a feeling that is all. But when I look into your eyes I see nothing but truth in them. I need to get back to the chamber, I just needed to make sure you were okay." Lion-O left her room and she stared at the open doorway. She lied to him, something was wrong, but she couldn't tell him, she just couldn't. She collapsed on her bed and started to cry. Lynx-O was walking by her room and saw her crying.  
  
Chapter Three:  
  
"Cheetara, what's wrong?" Lynx-O asked.  
  
"I lied… I lied to him. I lied to Lion-O."  
  
"What did you lie to him about?"  
  
"He asked me if something was wrong with me and I told him no."  
  
"Something IS wrong with you isn't there?" Lynx-O asked. She looked up from her bed and wiped away from her eyes. "What is it?"  
  
"I think I'm going to repeat the fate of my mother."  
  
"Your mother?"  
  
"Aurora." Lynx-O's face shifted when he heard that name. He knew about Aurora, the maddened Thundercat.  
  
"Your mother was Aurora?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I've heard about her. Her power grew far to great and she went crazy. Some say that she had powers that were rivaled by none save the sword of omens itself. Jaga had to kill her to end her madness."  
  
"Yes, Jaga told me that he killed my mother. I knew that she was not well, and I knew that she needed to be dealt with. But now I feel as though I am going to snap as well, as if I will repeat what my mother did. I'm even stronger then she is Lynx-O, I might not be able to be stopped like she was…" Lynx-O sat on the foot of her bed and patted her on the back.  
  
"Listen to me Cheetara. Fate is something that you and ONLY you can create. If you don't want to do something you will not do it, do you understand me?" She nodded. "Good, now get some rest, you might feel better." He left the room, leaving her alone. She felt so emotionally drained that she fell asleep quickly.  
  
"Daughter. Daughter, come to me my daughter."  
  
"Mother?" Cheetara asked as she saw someone who looked just like her, with the exception of darker hair, it was Aurora.  
  
"Yes daughter, I am here."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"You know what I want daughter, I want you to follow me. Share my pain, retain my legacy, give in to your urges!"  
  
"NO! I will not hurt any of my friends, they are the dearest to me."  
  
"I can feel your mind shifting towards evil my dear, come to me, come to me."  
  
"Never!"  
  
"You say that your friends are so very dear to you. Tell me daughter, are they more important to you then me? Your own mother?"  
  
Cheetara looked at her mother, questioning her own soul. She remembered Lynx-O's words and smiled. "Yes mother, I love my friends far more then I could ever love you. You who brought shame to the code of the Thundercats. You who killed many innocent people in a rage, drunk with your own power, all the while wearing our proud symbol. I may be of your blood, and I may have the same powers as you, and I may even be taking on more then I can possibly handle, but I will NEVER turn evil. I respect myself, and more importantly I respect my friends and the people who look up to me because of my status as a Thundercat. And for them I will continue to fight under the side of good, and also for myself."  
  
"No, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She heard the scream of her mother as Aurora's visage faded from her mind. Cheetara woke up immediately, and saw Lynx-O watching over her from the doorway.  
  
"I thought I should check on you again."  
  
"How long was I asleep?"  
  
"Five hours." He told her. "Did it help any?"  
  
"Yes, it did." She told him. "I may be like my mother in looks and in power, but I have my priorities, and they will never fade from my soul, never again."  
  
"I'm glad you are feeling better."  
  
"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you, and without Lion-O."  
  
"Maybe you should go tell him."  
  
"Perhaps… when he is ready… I will."  
  
The End  
  
Short and sweet wasn't it? Review, REVIEW!!!! Please ( 


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